THESE ARE THE DAYS OF NOAḤ – WAKE UP AND ENTER IN! - Matthew 24:37-39

25th of the 5th months 2016/2017

Shabbat Shalom all,

Mattithyahu/Matthew 24:37-39 “And as the days of Noaḥ, so also shall the coming of the Son of Aḏam be. 38 “For as they were in the days before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noaḥ entered into the ark, 39 and they did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also shall the coming of the Son of Aḏam be.”

It was these words of our Master that struck me once again this week along with the realisation of how most today has no clue what is coming! As a base for this message, I would like us to consider the words of our Master and consider how important it is for us to be about the Master’s business, just as Noaḥ was, and make sure that we guard righteousness so that we can faithfully enter into the rest of our Master when He comes for His Bride that has prepared herself!

In a message tonight called, “THESE ARE THE DAYS OF NOAḤ – WAKE UP AND ENTER IN!” let us take a closer look at the warning our Master is giving and recognise the level of depravity that mankind is in right now as we faithfully heed to call to be sober, watchful and alert, and we do our utmost in walking upright and in righteousness as we hear, guard and do the commands of Elohim!

As one stops to consider what is really going on in the world it is clear that we are able to recognise how wicked and depraved mankind has become and much is clearly pointing to the state of these days that we are living in as being closely characterised as similar to the days of Noaḥ.

In Mattithyahu/Matthew 24 our Master makes it very clear to us what the end of the age will look like, or rather the signs that we will be able to identify as marking the days that draw closer to the end and His imminent return. In teaching His taught ones of the days of the end of the age He cautioned them to take heed that no one leads them astray, for many would come in His Name and lead many astray. He also encourages us to not be troubled as we hear of fightings and reports of fightings for they have to take place before the end and then tells us that there shall be scarcities of food, and deadly diseases, and earthquakes in places, which are all the beginning of birth pains. He then warns and tells us how many will stumble and hate one another and the love for the Truth will grow cold as lawlessness increases and false prophets will rise up and lead any astray, yet those who endure to the end shall be saved! He warns us of false prophets that will do many great signs and wonders in order to lead people astray, which teaches me that we must be on guard against being swayed by the miraculous in the last days but must rather be able to rightly handle the Truth and be able to discern as many get caught with signs and wonders without testing the validity of them according to the Word. What am I saying here? To put it simply – we cannot base our faith/belief on circumstances alone as the end days are extremely tough, wicked and depraved and are very destructive days wherein we are called to endure in the Truth and be on guard against falling away. Now think about this for a moment – if perfect circumstances were the measure of belief then where would that leave earnest believers who are enduring under trials? So many are being led astray by the miraculous signs and wonders that are being seen in their midst and in the process are falling away to deceptive teachings that are causing division and rebellion, which יהוה (Yahweh) hates. One doesn’t have to look too far at recognising the beginnings of birth pains that are taking place as there are more fightings and reports of fightings taking place, nations are rising up against nations and there are earthquakes in places. I am not sure if many of you are aware of what extreme weather conditions are being seen and experienced around the world in these days, and we do not have to look too far to see this here in South Africa. This past week we saw extreme weather conditions where there was heaving snow, floods and 2 tornados, all across various parts of the country. While this may be the norm for many countries around the world we all know that it is not typically the norm for us here in South Africa. Even my eldest daughter said to me this week as we heard the news, “What is happening?”

While many may not recognise the clear conditions of the beginning of birth pains that our Master teaches us about, we are able to see how wicked the days are becoming, as these are as the days of Noaḥ, and herein lies the urgent call to obedience and the proper pursuit of set-apartness!

We are to be armed in the Truth, sober, watchful and alert and have our lamps trimmed and filled as we guard against compromise and disobedience to the Torah of Elohim. As we consider the words of our Master we take note that He was clearly emphasising that the end days will be as in the days of Noaḥ, where people will be so consumed with their own lives and the chasing of pleasures that satisfy the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, thus being totally ignorant of the call to come out and be separate, before destruction comes!

I have been going through many of the prophets this past week and the thing that strikes me in terms of the coming DAY of יהוה, is that the majority of people are totally clueless as to what is coming and in the process they are simply carrying on with their own self-consumed lives as if there is nothing to be concerned about!

יהושע (Yahushua) compared the characteristics of the people during the days of Noaḥ to that of people at the time of His return, and just as most refused to heed the warnings that Noaḥ gave when he preached righteousness for 120 years, choosing to shut their ears and be ignorant of the Truth, so too do we see the same today and judgement will come and strike and catch most by frightening surprise!

So what were the people like in the days of Noaḥ? Our Master and Elohim, יהושע Messiah, tells us that they were eating and drinking, marrying and given in marriage right up to the day Noaḥ entered the ark. The day that Noaḥ entered the Ark, those who were not in the Ark were destroyed by the flood as judgement for their depravity had come from יהוה!

There is a lot we can learn from understanding what the days of Noaḥ were like, according to the details we have in Scripture, and in the process be armed with the Truth that will equip us to not be found to be like those who were destroyed through the flood due to their disobedient, selfish and destructive lifestyles.

Kěpha (Peter) referred to the days of Noaḥ as days wherein the patience of Elohim waited! Waited for what?

Kěpha Aleph/1 Peter 3:20-21 “who were disobedient at one time when the patience of Elohim waited in the days of Noaḥ, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight beings, were saved through water, 21 which figure now also saves us: immersion – not a putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward Elohim – through the resurrection of יהושע Messiah”

As one reads the this 1st letter of Kěpha we take note here in the context of these words that the ones who were disobedient at one time is a reference to the spirits who were in prison that Messiah went and proclaimed to at His death. What spirits? The Spirits of the sons of Elohim who saw that the daughters of men were good to look at and took for themselves wives who bore children to them and these children were the Nephilim (giants). In other words in the days of Noaḥ the ‘fallen messengers’ of Elohim came and had intercourse with humans and giants were brought forth. These fallen messengers have been bound until judgement day and these were the ones that our Master went to proclaim to at His death – proclaim what? Judgement that was to come and that He had defeated death and that they who were bound would be bound until He comes again to judge the living and the dead!

Yehuḏah/Jude 1:6 “And the messengers who did not keep their own principality, but left their own dwelling, He has kept in everlasting shackles under darkness for the judgment of the great day.”

Why I am mentioning this is to set the scene as to how depraved and wicked the days of Noaḥ were as we see that the wicked union of messengers and humans brought forth giants due to a wrong union and it was at this point that we see the following in:

Berěshith/Genesis 6:3-6 “And יהוה said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever in his going astray. He is flesh, and his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of Elohim came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, the men of name. 5 And יהוה saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And יהוה was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.”

יהוה was grieved in His heart and sorry that He had made man as the wickedness of man was great in the earth and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually! Think about this for a moment – the thoughts of the heart of man were only evil continually! That is to say that there were not any good thoughts in the heart of man! When Messiah came and began to teach He got right down to the issues of the heart as He would say things like:

Marqos/Mark 7:20-23 “And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. 21 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil reasonings, adulteries, whorings, murders, 22 thefts, greedy desires, wickednesses, deceit, indecency, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 “All these wicked matters come from within and defile a man.”

These, of course, were accounts of our Master’s answer to those who were accusing His taught ones of breaking the traditions of the elders by not washing their hands, yet we take note that He was highlighting the clear fact that evil thoughts reside in the heart of man. When He taught the crowds He also made clear the heart of the Torah as He said things like:

Mattithyahu/Matthew 5:21-22 “You heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder,’ and whoever murders shall be liable to judgment. 22 “But I say to you that whoever is wroth with his brother without a cause shall be liable to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raka!’ shall be liable to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to fire of Gehenna.”

Mattithyahu/Matthew 5:27-28 “You heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 “But I say to you that everyone looking at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

What Messiah was making abundantly clear here was that it is out of the heart of man that comes forth evil and wickedness and this is why we need a Saviour into whose rest we can enter, be refined, refreshed and find refuge so that we may be hidden in the day of His wrath!

The heart of man was only evil continually and this grieved יהוה and His patience waited. What did His patience wait for? Did it wait for man to change His heart? No! He waited patiently while the ark was being prepared! He gave mankind a 120 year notice as He made it clear that man would have only 120 years left. This was not a change in the lifespan of a man as we take note that Noaḥ lived for another 350 years after the flood and died at the age of 950 years of age.

So this was not a passage that said that man would only live to 120 years old from now on – NO – this was a statement that in 120 years’ time the appointed judgement was coming and it was during this time that the patience of יהוה waited!

From this point on we can be sure that Noaḥ preached righteousness and called for repentance yet nobody would listen! In his second letter, Kěpha calls Noaḥ a ‘preacher of righteousness’ (Kěpha Bět/2 Peter 2:5).

While the ark was being prepared יהוה’s patience waited and Noaḥ preached righteousness and nobody listened as nobody cared about righteousness as they only cared about themselves!

The Greek word used for ‘patience’ in Kěpha Aleph/1 Peter 3:20 is the noun μακροθυμίαmakrothumia – Strong’s G3115 which means, ‘patience, longsuffering’, and this word comes from two Greek words: a) - μακρόςmakros – Strong’s G3117 which means, ‘long, far, distant’ and b) - θυμόςthumos – Strong’s G2372 which means, ‘passion, angry tempers, fierce, wrath, outbursts of anger’. In other words יהוה held back His anger while the ark was being prepared!

During the time of preparation our Mighty Master and Elohim patiently waits and holds back His wrath, yet His appointed Times are exactly that – His Appointed Times – and the Day of יהוה is drawing near! (Kěpha Bět/2 Peter 3:9)

Our Master told His taught ones, in:

Yoḥanan/John 14:3 “And if I go and preparea place for you, I shall come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, you might be too.”

He has gone to prepare and when His Appointed Time comes He is coming to fetch His Bride, ready or not!

We are to be like Noaḥ during the time of preparation, so to speak, and be proclaimers of righteousness, even while most will refuse to hear, for hearing they hear but do no hear nor understand!

Let us look further into what the days of Noaḥ were like:

1 – THEY WERE WICKED DAYS

Sha’ul writes in his letter to the believers in Ephesos, the following:

Eph’siyim/Ephesians 5:15-17 “See then that you walk exactly, not as unwise, but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are wicked. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the desire of יהוה is.”

Despite the sentence of 120 years being made clear, nobody redeemed the time because the days were wicked as man’s heart was only evil continually. Today it is no different as many couldn’t care less about the drawing near of the Day of the wrath of יהוה and are foolishly walking about without any care of redeeming the time and seeking after wisdom!

There was unequal yoking taking place between heavenly beings and woman and the wicked offspring of this union were the mighty men who ruled – so the wicked ruled the earth! Therefore, there were abominable unions taking place and wicked rulership was in authority. In Berěshith/Genesis 6:11 we are told that the earth was corrupt and was filled with violence! So it was a corrupt and violent world! In verse 12 we are told thatall flesh had corrupted themselves!

It was an adulterated and corrupt world that was ruled by wickedness in the days of Noaḥ. How different is it today? Do I need to answer, as it is a rhetorical question where the answer is obvious!

2 – THEY WERE DARK DAYS

This was a time of apostasy, where no one cared about hearing righteousness and nobody wanted to walk in the Light!

Sha’ul warned us in his second letter to Timotiyos in regards to how dark the days will be:

Timotiyos Bět/2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But know this, that in the last days hard times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, thankless, wrong-doers, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, haters of good, 4 betrayers, reckless, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of Elohim, 5 having a form of reverence but denying its power. And turn away from these!”

Need I expand on this or are there some of you who do not think that what he is explaining here are happening yet? I would love to expand on this, yet due to time restraint I am simply mentioning this passage to highlight what we clearly see happening in our time! In the days of Noaḥ the Righteousness that was preached was rejected and only 8 were saved while the rest of mankind were subjected to the fierce appointed judgement of Elohim, who patiently waited in the time of preparing the ark!

3 – THEY WERE TRYING TIMES

As we consider the depravity of mankind we can certainly recognise how difficult it must have been for Noaḥ and his family, who endured much slander, persecution and hatred for standing firm in righteousness and endured to the end and were saved through water!

Think about it for a moment – the people refused to hear the Truth as they carried on with their fleshly lives and if we put it into context of what many are doing today we could say that they were simply going about their days partying, shopping and indulging in fleshly lusts, with no regard to the call to walk according to the Spirit and be saved!

The work of building the ark and preaching righteousness to a wicked lot was extremely difficult for Noaḥ yet he never wavered in the task at hand! So many people today tend to give up too quickly at the first sign of conflict or persecution and lack the endurance required of a true set-apart one of Messiah! According to worldly standards of measurement we can see that the results of Noaḥ’s preaching was not successful at all yet this did not cause him to stop and neglect to do what he was commanded to do! We cannot look to numbers to determine if we are being successful in adhering to the call and appointment of יהוה on our lives, after all it is a narrow path that few find and only a remnant shall be saved.

Sadly many judge by numbers and often deem a small group of believers that guard righteousness as not being good enough due to their lack of numbers! This is sadly a misguided and incorrect method of measurement and one that Noaḥ was not concerned about and neither should we be! However, we do take note that while numbers is not the objective, the goal of our belief/faith is the deliverance of lives and therefore whether people hear or not we cannot stop preaching righteousness and be about the Master’s business of building His body, as each one does their part.

I do not think that there is any doubt in any of our minds as to the times that we are living in, yet what we ought to be concerned about is how we are preparing in these days of יהוה’s patience while He holds back His bow that is prepared with arrows of fire for the great Day of His wrath!

As we clearly recognise that we are living in days that are likened to the days of Noaḥ we need to assess our own lives and ask what kind of people ought we to be in order to be faithful ambassadors of the coming reign of our Master and Elohim.

Kěpha Bět/2 Peter 3:10-18 “But the day of יהוה shall come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with intense heat, and the earth and the works that are in it shall be burned up. 11 Seeing all these are to be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be in set-apart behaviour and reverence, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of Elohim, through which the heavens shall be destroyed, being set on fire, and the elements melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we wait for a renewed heavens and a renewed earth in which righteousness dwells. 14 So then, beloved ones, looking forward to this, do your utmost to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, 15 and reckon the patience of our Master as deliverance, as also our beloved brother Sha’ul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him, 16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them concerning these matters, in which some are hard to understand, which those who are untaught and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do also the other Scriptures. 17 You, then, beloved ones, being forewarned, watch, lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the delusion of the lawless, 18 but grow in the favour and knowledge of our Master and Saviour יהושע Messiah. To Him be the esteem both now and to a day that abides. Aměn. ”

The entire chapter highlights for us what kind of people we ought to be, yet what we can see from these words of Kěpha is that our behaviour ought to be set-apart and in true reverence for Elohim as we do our utmost to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless and reckon His patience as deliverance, which we are to work out with fear and trembling! Too many people are not taking His patience as deliverance seriously, as they are clueless in regards to the extreme heat of His displeasure that is coming upon the sons of disobedience! He also warns us here in his letter to not twist Sha’ul’s writings, which many do to their own destruction! Sadly we see today how many are foolishly rejecting the letters of Sha’ul, simply due to a lack of understanding as they refuse to be taught by יהוה’s appointed teachers and as a result they end up twisting Sha’ul’s often hard to understand words, as they do with other Scriptures! In other words the caution here is to not get led astray with the delusion of lawlessness but grow in the favour and knowledge of our Master and Saviour, יהושע Messiah.

There are simply two groups of people – the prepared or those who are properly making themselves ready and the unprepared. Which group do you find yourself in?

The name of נֹחַNoaḥ - Strong’s H5146 means, ‘rest, comfort’ and comes from the primitive root נוּחַnuaḥ - Strong’s H5117 meaning, ‘to rest, abandon, give comfort, settle down and remain’.His name speaks of the rest we enter into in יהושע Messiah upon our immersion into His Name, and as we look at the accounts of the life of Noaḥ we can learn some very vital lessons of faith and obedience. This righteous man was perfect amidst a depraved and wicked generation!

Iḇ’rim/Hebrew 11:7 “By belief, Noaḥ, having been warned of what was yet unseen, having feared, prepared an ark to save his house, through which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to belief.”

How are you preparing? Are you preparing by belief as you hear, guard and do the Word or has compromise and difficult circumstances caused you to close your ears and be led astray by false doctrines of men that only tickle ears?

Are you being actively involved in the preparation work of the body of Messiah or are you busy building your own life while the House of Elohim lies in ruins? Are you properly staying in the Master or do you find yourself wandering away from complete set-apartness due to the pressures of this wicked and depraved world that we live in the midst of?

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 2:28 “And now, little children, stay in Him, so that when He appears, we might have boldness and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.”

Ya’aqoḇ/James 5:7-8 “So, brothers, be patient until the coming of the Master. See, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You too, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Master has drawn near.”

Patient and established hearts! To be properly patient until our Master’s return entails a proper pursuit to know Him by running in the way of His commands and in the proper execution of patience we show our love for Him by guarding His commands and guarding to soil of our hearts, where His Torah has been firmly planted; and being sober and watchful against the enemy who is constantly seeking an opportunity to sow deception and lies into hearts that are not well tilled, through worries and the cares of this life and the deceit of wealth or the broad path of worldly ways that are full of the lust of eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life!

There are many more passages that we could go through in terms of realising the clear call that Scripture continually cries out, and that is to hear the call to come out and be separate, and for some this is a huge wake up call to come out from all wickedness and enter in to the Master and His rest as we guard to do all He commands us to through His Word!

In a wicked and depraved time let us be encouraged to continually choose to be like Noaḥ and be perfect in our generation, for our Master clearly tells us, in:

Mattithyahu/Matthew 5:48 “Therefore, be perfect, as your Father in the heavens is perfect.”

The Greek word that is translated as ‘perfect’ is τέλειοςteleios – Strong’s G5046 which means, ‘having reached its end, complete, perfect, mature’ and is used in the following verse in regards to the body of Messiah being equipped unto maturity, through the proper working and service of building up the body of Messiah by those He has appointed to perfect the set-apart ones:

Eph’siyim/Ephesians 4:13 “until we all come to the unity of the belief and of the knowledge of the Son of Elohim, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the completeness of Messiah”

This word is also used in:

Ya’aqoḇ/James 1:25 “But he that looked into the perfectTorah, that of freedom, and continues in it, not becoming a hearer that forgets, but a doer of work, this one shall be blessed in his doing of the Torah.”

Looking into the ‘perfect’ Torah and continuing in it – that is to be one who guards to do what is instructed in it – shall be blessed – for it is the Perfect Torah that perfects our set-apartness!

How perfect are you being? Perhaps you have found yourself in a state of slumber under the influence of a wicked world. If this is so recognise and hear that:

“THESE ARE THE DAYS OF NOAḤ – WAKE UP AND ENTER IN!”

Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 4:1 “Therefore, since a promise remains of entering into His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.”

The Greek word used here for ‘entering’ is εἰσέρχομαιeiserchomai – Strong’s G1525 which means, ‘enter, go in, come, come in, arise’, which comes from the two words: 1) εἰςeis – Strong’s G1519 which is a primary preposition that means, ‘to or into (indicating the point reached or entered, of place and time, or figuratively meaning the purpose or result)’, and 2) ἔρχομαιerchomai – Strong’s G2064 which means, ‘to come, go, arrive, brought’, which is used in:

Ḥazon /Revelation 22:17 “And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And he who hears, let him say, “Come!” And he who thirsts, come! And he who desires it, take the water of life without paying!”

The Greek word translated 3 times here as ‘come’ is the word ἔρχομαιerchomai – Strong’s G2064 which means, ‘to come, go, arrive, brought’, and here highlights the clear picture of those who are able to enter into the reign of the new heavens and earth, where no unrighteous will be allowed. It is obedient faith that gets one to be able to respond clearly to the call to ‘come in’ and dwell with the Master!

Ḥazon/Revelation 22:14 “Blessed are those doing His commands, so that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of life, and to enter through the gates into the city.”

This kind of obedient faith is what got Noaḥ to become the heir of true righteousness which is by an active belief!

Noaḥ is given to us as a clear example of how we can certainly enter in by faith in the Master and Elohim of our deliverance, יהושע Messiah and therefore there is now no excuse for anyone to not respond to the patience of Elohim before the Appointed Time of His wrath comes!

“THESE ARE THE DAYS OF NOAḤ – WAKE UP AND ENTER IN!”

Eph’siyim/Ephesians 5:8 “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Master. Walk as children of light”

Tehillah/Psalm 89:15 “Blessed are the people who know the sounding! They walk, O יהוה, in the light of Your face.”

The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘sounding’ is the word תְּרוּעָהTeru‘ah - Strong’s H8643 whichmeans ‘a shout or blast of war, alarm or joy’, which comes from the root verb רוּעַrua – Strong’s H7321 meaning, ‘to raise a shout, give a blast, sound the alarm, shout for joy’. What a powerful verse this is!!! Blessed are those who know the festal trumpet call is how this could also be translated as we certainly recognise that the Appointed Times of Elohim are critical to our understanding of Scripture and the ability to know and walk in His commands as we follow His cycles and seasons gives us the blessing of walking in His light!

Romiyim/Romans 13:11-14 “And do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for us to wake up from sleep, for now our deliverance is nearer than when we did believe. 12 The night is far advanced, the day has come near. So let us put off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13 Let us walk becomingly, as in the day, not in wild parties and drunkenness, not in living together and indecencies, not in fighting and envy, 14 but put on the Master יהושעMessiah, and make no provision for the lusts of the flesh.”

“THESE ARE THE DAYS OF NOAḤ – WAKE UP AND ENTER IN!”

יהוה bless you and guard you; יהוה make His face shine upon you and show you favour; יהוהlift up His face to you and give you Shalom!